Ann Budge: People say Hearts have to beat Rangers for me - I don't see it that way

When Hearts defeated Rangers in the 1998 Scottish Cup final, they did more than end a 36-year trophy drought. Without knowing it, they sowed the seeds they would later need to survive.

“I am a realist so I recognise this won’t be a walk in the park,” says club chairwoman Ann Budge, as she looks ahead to the latest meeting between the teams – their first in a final since Colin Cameron and Stephane Adam scored to bestow legendary status on that squad. “But, equally, I keep telling myself that the first cup final I was at was the ‘98 cup final. I went through with a couple of people I worked with at the time and my daughter and I didn’t think we had any chance whatsoever.

“I was still relatively new to football and I didn't have the passion that, certainly, my daughter had. So, for me it was a case of ‘yeah, it's great to be here, great to experience it but…’ I didn’t say it out loud because Carol wouldn't have been happy, but I didn't expect to win.

“The fact that we did… when I think about that now, and I have been thinking about it, I think maybe we can do it again and, yeah, maybe this would be a nice bit of symmetry.”

The woman who stepped up to save the club when administrators were called in and all hope seemed lost, Budge relinquished her place as majority shareholder this year. The handover to the Foundation of Hearts in one of the most notable events of the club’s history and having already secured third place and European football, a Scottish Cup win would tie things up neatly.

Still on the board and actively involved, with things running smoothly on and off the pitch, the silverware is being viewed as the ultimate ‘thank you’ and the ideal way to mark the club’s turnaround.

“Quite a lot of supporters have said